Vacuum cleaner nozzle

ABSTRACT

A carpeting tool for a vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow rake. The hollow rake includes a plurality of spaced hollow open-ended teeth and a plurality of spaced air passage openings interposed respectively between certain of the teeth. The hollow rake further has a pair of oppositely extending lateral hollow flange portions and a nozzle integral with and intermediary of the flange portions. The flange portions have a lowermost lateral surface from which extend the hollow teeth, and in which are formed the air passage openings.

United States Patent 1191 Rosewall 15/345 X Howard et al. Apr. 2, 1974 1VACUUM CLEANER NOZZLE 1.053665 2/1913 Spencer 15/415 1,431,943 10/1922Gee 15/415 X [75] lnvemors- Ward, when Schaal both 3,708,824 1/1973Holubinka 15/397 Brooklyn. 0223,173 3/1972 Howard 21 al.... 15/397 x2,866,22] 12/1958 Warva 15/397 [73] Ass'gnee' 2,276,886 3 1942 Smith15/397 x [22] Filed: May 3, 1972 21 Appl. 190.; 250,018 'ffim l 'fg i iR I U S l D Attorney, Agent, or F irm-Friedman & Goodman e ated Appication ata [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 104,583, Jan. 7, [57]ABSTRACT 1971, abandoned.

A carpeting tool for a vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow rake. Thehollow rake includes a plurality of zz i jgi spaced hollow open-endedteeth and a plurality of Spaced air p g p g interposed respectively [58]Fleld of Search 15/397, 402, 415 between certain of the teeth. Thehollowvrakc further [56] Reerences Cited has a pair of oppositelyextending lateral hollow flange portions and a nozzle integral with andintermediary UNITED STATES PATENTS of the flange portions. The flangeportions have a low- 963,049 7/1910 Kenney 15/397 X ermost lateralsurface from which extend the hollow teeth, and in which are formed theair passage openo u in a. 3,61 1,473 10/1971 Johnson 15/397 mgs.2,818,595 H1958 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1 VACUUM CLEANER NOZZLE Thisis a continuation-in-part of co-pending US. Pat. application Ser. No.104,583, filed on Jan. 7, I971, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many vacuum cleaner tools are conventionallywell known for cleaning carpeting and for cleaning specifically,carpeting of the shag variety. However, the presently known carpetingtools do not efficiently cleanse and groom the shag carpeting since, infact, these tools cannot effectively remove fine particles from theinnermost portions at the very depth of the shag carpeting andsimultaneously therewith the heavy or enlarged particles from theuppermost surface of the shag carpeting. As a result, therefore, theuser of the vacuum cleaner must resort 'to a plurality of tools in orderto more adequatelygroom the carpetrln this respect, the user willnormally attach a tool having'hollow teeth to the vacuum cleaner'togroom the lowermost portions at the very depth of the carpet and thenremove that tool and replace it with a second tool for grooming theuppermost portions of the carpet. It is clear, therefore, that this is atime consuming and undesirable procedur'e for cleaning the shag carpetand, therefore, unacceptable from the standpoint of the user.

Many attempts have been made at providing a singular tool which willefficiently accomplish both of these needs, i.e., groomingsimultaneously both the uppermost and innermost portions of the shagcarpet. However, these attempts have not been fully effective, thisbecause of the configuration of the teeth, the relationship of theopenings at the end of the teeth, and the spacing of variousopeningsbetween the teeth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a vacuum cleaner carpeting tool for grooming shagcarpeting.

his a further object of the present invention to provide a singular toolthat is capable of simultaneously grooming both the outermost andinnermost portions of the shag carpeting.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide acarpeting tool for shag carpeting that will through its entire lateralextent exert a 'substantially uniform suction against the shag carpetingin contact therewith.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide acarpeting tool that is economical, efficient and readily attachable toconventional vacuum cleaners.

These objects are achieved by providing a carpeting tool for a vacuumcleaner comprising a hollow rake. The hollow rake includes a pluralityof spaced hollow open-ended uniformly tapered teeth and a plurality ofspaced air passage openings interposed respectively between certain ofthe teeth, each of the teeth terminating in an enlarged oval openingextending in a plane inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of eachof the teeth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With the above-and additional objectsand advantages in view as will hereinafter appear, this inventioncomprises the devices, combinations, and arrangements of partshereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings ofapreferred embodiment in which:

FIG. I is a general perspective view of the carpeting tool according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially fragmentary side elevational view, partly incross-section, illustrating the relationship of the enlarged inclinedoval opening with that of the hollow tooth of the carpeting rake inwhich it is formed;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view, along a lineparallel to the longitudinal axes of the teeth;

FIG. 4 is an-enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating theupper and rear portions of the carpeting rake according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the underside ofthe rake; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the oval appearance of the opening formedat the end of each tooth'taken in a direction of arrow A in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As illustrated generally in thedrawings, the carpeting tool or hollow rake 10 comprises a plurality ofdownward, generally uniformly, tapering open-ended hollow teeth 11 whichare co-extensive and parallel to one another. The rake 10 furtherincludes two oppositely extending lateral hollow flanges 12 and anopen-ended nozzle connection 13 intermediate the flanges 12. The lateralflanges 12 have an upper surface 14 and the nozzle connection 13 has arounded surface 15 extending into the upper surface 14 of the flanges12. Furthermore, the nozzle connection 13 has a flat inclined surface 16terminating in a circular edge 16 abutting the rounded surface 15 of thenozzle connection 13.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the flanges 12 have a mutual lower surface 17at the underside thereof from which extend the hollow teeth 11 inuniformly lateral spaced relation, and in which are provided a pluralityof air passage openings 18 respectively separated from one anotherpreferably by two of the teeth 11 in each instance. As illustrated inFIG. 3, the air passage openings 18 have respective successivelyincreasing lateral dimensions or diameters, the purpose of which will befurther discussed below.

In this respect, the air passage openings 18 are formed in the lowerportion of the flanges 12, whereas, the teeth llhave open-ended portionsrespectively remote from the air passage openings 18. As a result,therefore, the user of the carpeting rake, according to the presentinvention, need merely stroke the shag carpeting and the teeth 11 willgroom the Iowemiost depth of the shag carpeting to remove fine particlesfrom the latter, and the air passage openings 18 which slide along theuppermost portions of the shag carpeting will, thus, simultaneouslygroom the upper surface of the carpeting to remove larger particles fromthe latter.

As pointed out above, the air passage openings have successivelyincreasing respective lateral dimensions or diameters which act touniformly provide a suction of uniform pressure throughout the entirelateral extent of the flanges l2 and, thus, uniformly groom the shagcarpeting in contact therewith. In this respect, the pressure drop orfriction drop exerted against the air flow by the openings 18 is suchthat the quantity of air passing through an endmost air passage opening18 is substantially the equivalent of the quantity of air passingthrough the centralmost opening 18 and, thus, there is effectedsubstantially uniform suction throughout the rake 10.

The nature of the teeth 11 form an important aspect of the presentinvention in that each of the teeth ll are both externally andinternally tapered and terminate in a free end portion in which isprovided or formed an enlarged opening 20 of generally elliptical oroval configuration. The enlarged nature of the oval opening 20 stemsfrom the fact that it lies in a plane defined by line 8-8 which extendstransversely of the plane of FIG. 2, the plane denoted by line B-B beingupwardly inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of each of the teeth11 in a lateral direction forwardly of the teeth.

The inclination of the plane in which the oval opening 20 is formedserves to not only provide a greater open area through which particlesor debris at the very depth of the shag carpeting can be passed throughand into the teeth 11, which in each instance taper to a minimal extentso as to deeply gouge the very depths of the shag carpeting, but alsopermits the rake 10 to be alternately stroked forwardly and rearwardlyof the teeth 11 in a manner which reduces the probability of toothfracture.

In this respect, the rake 10 may be maintained such that, in a mannerillustrated in FIG. 2, the teeth 11 are substantially verticallydisposed with the nozzle 13 extending upwardly and rearwardly with teeth11, in inclined relation with the latter, this permitting the inclinedopen free end of each of the teeth 11 to ride forwardly smoothly alongthe depth of the shag carpeting without abruptly snaging the carpeting,which may otherwise cause tooth fracture, the inclined open free end 20of each of the teeth 11 acting as a camming surface for riding smoothlyalong the depth of the shag carpet.

It is clear from the above, that the present invention provides asingular carpeting tool which simultaneously grooms both the uppermostand the lowermost surfaces of the shag carpeting quickly, efficientlyand easily, thus, filling a void in the art. I

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understoodthat the present disclosure relates to a preferred embodiment of theinvention which is for purposes ofillustration only and is not to beconstrued as a limitation of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A carpeting tool for a vacuum cleaner, said tool comprising twooppositely extending lateral hollow flanges, an open ended connectingtube secured intermediately between said flanges to upper surfaces ofsaid flanges, said connecting tube extending rearwardly and upwardlyfrom said flanges, said flanges including a mutual lower surfaceopposite each of said upper surfaces of said flanges, a pluralityofspaced hollow teeth extending vertically downwardly from said lowersurface on each side of said connecting tube to define a hollow rake,each of said teeth being externally and internally tapered from amaximum cross-section adjacent said lower surface to a minimumcross-section adjacent a free end portion of each of said teeth, anopening provided in an end of each free end portion for communicatingthrough each of said teeth into said flanges to said connecting tube,surface means for providing a greater open area at each free end portionopening and for permitting said tool to be alternately stroked forwardlyand rearwardly with said teeth in contact with carpeting in a mannerwhich reduces probability of tooth fracture, said surface meansconsisting of an inclined surface on said end of each free end portion,each inclined surface extending downwardly in a front-to-rear directionto provide each free end portion opening with a generally oval-shapedconfiguration, a plurality of spaced air passage openings being providedin said lower surface of said flanges on each side of said connectingtube and communicating with said connecting tube, said air passageopenings being interposed between selected ones of said teeth, said airpassage openings successively increasing in open area respectively in adirection laterally away from center of said lower surface disposedbetween said flanges to uniformly provide a suction of uniform pressurethroughout entire lateral extent of said flanges.

2. A carpeting tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein said air passageopenings are generally circular.

3. A carpeting tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said airpassage openings are separated from one another by two of said teeth.

1. A carpeting tool for a vacuum cleaner, said tool comprising twooppositely extending lateral hollow flanges, an open ended connectingtube secured intermediately between said flanges to upper surfaces ofsaid flanges, said connecting tube extending rearwardly and upwardlyfrom said flanges, said flanges including a mutual lower surfaceopposite each of said upper surfaces of said flanges, a plurality ofspaced hollow teeth extending vertically downwardly from said lowersurface on each side of said connecting tube to define a hollow rake,each of said teeth being externally and internally tapered from amaximum crosssection adjacent said lower surface to a minimumcross-section adjacent a free end portion of each of said teeth, anopening provided in an end of each free end portion for communicatingthrough each of said teeth into said flanges to said connecting tube,surface means for providing a greater open area at each free end portionopening and for permitting said tool to be alternately stroked forwardlyand rearwardly with said teeth in contact with carpeting in a mannerwhich reduces probability of tooth fracture, said surface meansconsisting of an inclined surface on said end of each free end portion,each inclined surface extending downwardly in a front-to-rear directionto provide each free end portion opening with a generally ovalshapedconfiguration, a plurality of spaced air passage openings being providedin said lower surface of said flanges on each side of said connectingtube and communicating with said connecting tube, said air passageopenings being interposed between selected ones of said teeth, said airpassage openings successively increasing in open area respectively in adIrection laterally away from center of said lower surface disposedbetween said flanges to uniformly provide a suction of uniform pressurethroughout entire lateral extent of said flanges.
 2. A carpeting tool asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said air passage openings are generallycircular.
 3. A carpeting tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein each ofsaid air passage openings are separated from one another by two of saidteeth.